As Chief Product Officer, Sander manages Expereo's service portfolio, driving world-class connectivity solutions for global enterprises.
Strong, reliable internet is the bedrock of modern business. Consequently, network latency, outages or packet loss can mean the difference between success and failure.
Global organizations looking to stay ahead of the curve are therefore always reevaluating their network approach—and for many businesses, this ultimately comes down to a choice between the public vs. private network options. Or, in other words, internet vs. multiprotocol label switching (MPLS).
The traditional benefits of the latter include more reliability, better quality of service and greater control over network management. However, nowadays, the agility, scalability and ease of access of the public internet has made it a lucrative option for small, growing and global businesses alike, and is thus growing in popularity.
The Public Internet Age
Since its inception, the growth and modernization of the internet has made it incredibly complex and fragmented.
There are over 100,000 distinct internet networks operating today, and no two networks offer identical performance. But, with the right support, navigating the complicated area of the public internet is a cost-effective method for instantly improving application performance.
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This is because the global internet offers a diverse and self-healing bedrock for connectivity, with the largest possible number of potential routes for internet traffic. It also means businesses are not limited to certain cloud or SaaS providers and ensures they can keep their options open for future cloud opportunities and best-in-class applications.
The most important factor for the rapid acceleration of the public internet has been the transition to the cloud. Without being able to reliably transfer your application traffic across the internet, wherever applications are hosted, to whichever locations you need, a business cannot ensure the smooth employee and customer experiences that will underpin its IT strategy and growth. What’s more, hyper-scale cloud providers have made cloud infrastructure far more reliable, scalable and accessible, even in typically “remote” regions of the world, making public internet infrastructure an option for all types of businesses, in all stages of their growth cycle, and in any location in the world.
It’s for that reason that despite the greater in-built controls of MPLS networks, the public internet is gaining ground against all other network options. Indeed, the traditional benefits of MPLS can be translated over to the public internet with third-party expert partners who can offer tools to help organizations identify, manage and deploy their global internet networks that underpin their digital and cloud transformation ambitions.
Some Potential Pitfalls And How To Overcome Them
There are of course issues that can still arise with the public internet. For example, factors such as network congestion, latency and packet loss can impact the speed and stability of internet connections. This variability in performance may hinder critical business operations and result in downtime or sluggish application performance.
However, these issues arise primarily if your business is relying on the default “Border Gateway Protocol” (BGP) for internet traffic. This default protocol carries traffic via what it perceives to be the shortest, and therefore fastest, route, without considering challenges such as congestion.
Fortunately, AI-enhanced network technology now exists to proactively assess and determine the best possible route for network traffic.
From a technical perspective, it does this by predicting performance and directing internet traffic across the networks that deliver the most consistent path. These solutions can analyze the best available path in real time, across all the possible network combinations—testing each route against a set of defined metrics that prioritize performance.
What this essentially means is that businesses can enjoy all the benefits of a public internet connection, including flexibility, affordability and scalability, while also having the reliability and security of a private network connection service. This, in turn, saves IT teams countless hours and delivers a far more durable internet connection.
Regaining Control Of Your Network
Another disadvantage when it comes to the public internet is the lack of control. Unlike private networks, where businesses have full control over network infrastructure and configurations, the public internet operates on shared infrastructure. This can pose challenges in ensuring consistent quality of service.
For example, public internet services rely on various providers and infrastructure, including internet service providers and cloud applications. Any disruption or outage in these services can directly impact businesses’ ability to access critical resources and services, leading to productivity losses and financial implications.
Similarly, compliance and regulatory requirements differ greatly across industries, markets, and locations, and navigating them all while ensuring data privacy can be more challenging when you don’t truly own your network infrastructure.
Again, there is a solution to help overcome these challenges. Improving transparency and visibility into a network infrastructure, via a network management platform, enables businesses to identify issues, manage its services and adapt to differing market conditions on an ad hoc basis. Essentially better visibility, and total control of your entire network, means a business can navigate any disruptions to its ISPs and cloud applications with ease.
Making Sure Your Network Works For You
Better visibility, enhanced agility and a wider range of capabilities means better outcomes for a business. It’s no surprise therefore that the public internet, which offers smooth cloud capabilities at an affordable and scalable rate, means it is becoming the more attractive choice for technology decision-makers across the globe.
But this does not mean the public internet is without its challenges. Thus, building your network infrastructure with the latest in AI-enhanced network connectivity solutions, by outsourcing third-party expertise, and by enhancing visibility into your entire network infrastructure, is the best way to build confidently, cost-effectively and securely.
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